Afghan traders warn of halting Pak trucks

KABUL (PAN): Traders on Saturday warned of a tit-for-tat response to the restrictions slapped by Pakistan on Afghan trucks in the neighbouring country.

About 700 trucks of Afghan traders have been stranded over the past month on the Pakistani side of the border. Pakistani authorities suspect the vehicles may be transferring goods for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

Islamabad closed a key supply route for NATO-led troops and ordered the United States to vacate the Shamsi airbase in Balochistan province in the wake of an ISAF air raid that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in the Mohmand tribal region on November 26.

Ahmad Shah told Pajhwok Afghan News they had to pay $25,000 in taxes to the Pakistan government on a daily basis. Nearly 20 traders were in Kabul to urge President Karzai to find a solution to their problem, he said.